It’s time for my 39 Before 40 Final Report. I set myself the task of achieving 39 things between my 39th and 40th birthdays and today I’m going to let you know how I got on.
You can see the original list here and I also did an update part way too.
39 Before 40 Final Report
1 Blog 25 18 times COMPLETE
I didn’t quite manage the 25 I originally intended but I’m happy to call this one complete with 18 posts written and published over the year. And that year included a chunk of national and local lockdowns and home learning for my son… I did what I could!
2 Release 3 FTGE (Find The Good Everyday) paid for products COMPLETE
I am so pleased that I opened my Etsy shop this year and have already reached 40 sales! I’d love it if you popped over for a look. And I overachieved here – releasing more than 3 products.
3 Mindset Training COMPLETE
I have realised this year that mindset is a constant work-in-progress and it’s something I want to prioritise regularly going forward.
4 39 Soundtrack COMPLETE
I love this one and recommend you give it a go! I pick one (sometimes 2) songs each month that I’ve been listening to or that remind me of something we’ve done or even shows/films we’ve been watching. Here’s the 39 Soundtrack on Spotify.
5 Document Christmas Learn Cross-stitch COMPLETE
You can see the little rainbow I stitched here.
6 Sewing with Stretch course COMPLETE
I started the course and got 2 of the 3 items made which is awesome. There is one more item from the course to make – I have the pattern and supplies ready to go and it’s on my 40 for 40 list!
7 Take Reggie on “holiday” COMPLETE
Reggie is our greyhound. We took him away to Norfolk for 2 nights in an Air BNB and we all enjoyed it!
8 Go to Skye COMPLETE
I’m so happy we got to do this in the Summer. I loved Skye and would love to revisit as there is so much to see and do. I shared a few snaps on Instagram here.
9 Ride a Horse Do a 20k step day COMPLETE
I didn’t get to ride a horse but I did do a 20k step day when we were in Skye (visiting Dunvegan Castle, the Coral beach and the Fairy Pools) and I felt that definitely deserved a place on this list!
10 Visit Norfolk COMPLETE
We did this in May and took Reggie.
11 Plan an epic 40th COMPLETE
We had dinner out (with cocktails!) at the newly opened Cosy Club, I treated myself to some new clothes and we went away to Kent for a few days – it was really lovely.
12 Spa Day Personal Shop (With a Stylist) COMPLETE
The Spa Day got cancelled again! (We originally bought the Spa Day package in November 2019. Hoping it will happen while I’m 40.) Instead I got an online shop with a stylist to help me pick some new items for my wardrobe. It was lots of fun.
13 Day in the Life COMPLETE
I took part in this in March. I blogged about it here and also created a photo book too.
14 Take a creative course/class COMPLETE
I did this virtually. I finished the Bronze level of my online sewing club and moved along to the Silver level. The items I made were:
- Lay flat drawstring bag
- Some cushions – envelope back and zipper closure
- Drawstring project bag with internal zip and handles
- Mug Bag
15 Instagram growth – reach 1k and grow my community COMPLETE
Instagram is my favourite social media platform and I enjoy creating content and spending time chatting there. I’d love it if you popped by for a visit!
16 Europe city break First 100 Days Journalling Project COMPLETE
This was a pandemic related switch.
17 Grow the FTGE newsletter and mailing list COMPLETE
I really enjoy sending my monthly newsletters. I create a freebie to send out each month. It’s usually journalling prompts or a worksheet to help you find more good in your everyday. It makes me happy each time someone signs up! If you don’t already get the newsletter you can sign up here.
18 Visit Bury St Edmunds/Suffolk COMPLETE
We visited Bury St Edmunds and stopped there for lunch and a walk on our way to Norfolk in May.
19 Reach my Find Your Happy Sales Target COMPLETE
So pleased with this one. You can learn more about Find Your Happy here and purchase a copy here. Every purchase makes me so very happy! I really appreciate each and every one.
20 Be Published and Paid NOT DONE
I was so convinced that I would do this but it just didn’t happen. I found more enjoyment working on items for my Etsy shop than I did pitching for work. So I embraced my word for the year – curiosity – and I followed my nose. This may be something I come back to in the future but it wasn’t the right time this year.
21 Submit the kiddo’s high school application COMPLETE
This was done back in October and we were very pleased to find out he got his first choice school in March.
22 Family Movie Night with a Theme COMPLETE
We watched Harry Potter, made Butterbeer and had HP related snacks! (M&S sell chocolate frogs and other wizard treats!)
23 A Me Day for Whatever I like (follow my nose!) COMPLETE
I originally intended to take myself off for an adventure but instead I read a whole book (that I’d been eagerly awaiting) in a day!
24 Do some work on the house NOT DONE
I had a list of things we wanted to do but it didn’t happen. We started looking into a new kitchen and other things we wanted done but were never quite motivated to crack on with the projects. Hopefully soon!
25 Solstice and Equinox adventures COMPLETE
- Winter – made a wreath
- Spring – purchased a beautiful Willow wreath
- Summer – went on a lovely walk with the family
- Autumn – got my hair done and worked on Autumn items for my Etsy shop!
26 Find fun ways to use glass jars COMPLETE
I ended up playing with glass jars for my Crafternoon in aid of Mind.
27 Host a Crafternoon to raise money for Mind COMPLETE
I did this in November. I really enjoyed hosting and would definitely consider doing it again.
28 Food bank donations COMPLETE
I set up a monthly financial donation to our local food bank at the end of last year.
29 Share my RA story NOT DONE
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in March 2020. I’ve had a blog post drafted about this for a while and I had planned to share it around the time of RA Awareness Week in September but I don’t feel quite ready to share yet.
30 Read Untamed COMPLETE
I read it, loved it and recommend it!
31 Monthly RAKs – big and small COMPLETE
I didn’t always do these monthly but I did at least 12 over the course of the year. I really enjoyed this one. It was fun coming up with different ideas. I did giveaways on Instagram and through my newsletter and chose someone who purchased from my Etsy shop to win a £5 voucher.
32 Try dairy free (for a week? Or month?) Try Second Nature COMPLETE
I changed this one to trying a 12 week programme around nutrition and mindset. It was good – I learnt a lot and have recently started a repeat of the 12 weeks to build on what I learned the first time around.
33 Bring back a meat-free-day each week Try More Meat Free Recipes COMPLETE
I didn’t keep track of this so I don’t know if I managed a meat free day every week. But we did try more Meat Free Recipes and make sure we add some to the meal plan every week.
34 Review this list monthly and make plans COMPLETE
I didn’t use any ‘formal’ way to review but I regularly checked the list to see how I was getting on. And this 39 Before 40 Final Report counts right?!
35 Aim for 30+ rejections pitches and learn from them NOT DONE
As I said for Number 20 – this didn’t happen. I did send some pitches and followed them up. But in the end I found more enjoyment and satisfaction from working on items for my Etsy shop so I focused my time on that instead.
36 NLP Training Taster COMPLETE
NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I did this in January. It was interesting and something I would consider exploring further in the future.
37 Be a guest blogger/tutor/speaker COMPLETE
I was a guest on the Creative Productive podcast and also did an Instagram Live with the host Sarah (@stationerymagpie). I was a guest tutor for the Bring Back Paper membership. And I did an IG Live with Alexis all about Instagram and how I use it.
38 Make Hot Chocolate bombs with the kiddo COMPLETE
This was fun and we’ve made more since. Maybe we should make some for Christmas presents this year?
39 Get kiddo ready for high school (uniform/kit, equipment etc) COMPLETE
We did this and we are continually working on getting him set up for success.
Summary
So that’s my 39 Before 40 Final Report. In summary:
- I’ve completed 35 items on the list – really chuffed with that.
- Of those 35, 7 were changed from the original list for various reasons and I am okay with that.
- 4 were not completed but I’m at peace with that.
I’ll be back soon to share my 40 for 40 list which I’ve already made some progress with!